What are FACIAL THREADS?

To redefine facial contour and get back youthful appearance thread lift is a safe alternative to traditional. It is also referred to as ‘lunch hour lift’. This procedure reduces sagging around jawline, cheeks and neck. It lifts drooping eyebrows and deep nasolabial folds. If performed well, dramatic results, are possible. The recovery time is very less, the outcome is immediate, and even the cost is reasonable. It reshapes the lower half of the face by removing excess facial skin.
Facial threads can tighten loose, hanging skin around the jaw line, also known as “jowls.” It can also remove deep creases around the mouth and nose, and excess, hanging skin and fat under the chin and in the neck. The procedure can also tighten the underlying tissues, and it may be combined with surgery to enhance the forehead, cheeks, brows, and eyelids.In the United States, 107,261  women and 13,702 men had surgery for a facelift in 2016. Among men, it was the fifth most common type of aesthetic surgery.

What is a Thread Lift?

A thread lift procedure is a shorter procedure type that focuses on targeting the signs of aging on the lower face and involves subcutaneous placement of PDO threads which are pulled to achieve the desired skin lift effect. Although it can address eyebrow sagging and cheek sagging, thread lift often focuses its attention on midface, jowl, and neck-lifting.

What is the Goal of a Thread Lift?

The goal of a thread lift is to reposition skin tissues, thus restoring youthful proportions and appearances to the face, neck, and body. This lifting and tightening are done by a plastic surgeon who inserts a needle into the skin, threading it bi-directionally through the soft tissues of the face, neck or body to grasp, lift and suspend the facial area. Surgeons use a “cross-hatch” or “basket weave” pattern to achieve the desired lifting effect in the targeted areas. The minimally invasive procedure provides immediate results, but its greater purpose is to encourage new collagen production to stimulate long term results and restore a youthful appearance in the treated areas.

Technical Description of a Thread Lift

Before a thread lift begins, patients will receive local anesthesia in the area where the thread-lifting will be performed—the midface, jowl or neck. A plastic surgeon then inserts a pre-threaded needle into the subdermal level of the facial tissues, which simply means that the needle will go underneath the visible layer of skin. The needle is inserted in a curved direction into the area to be lifted. Directly above this first needle, a second needle will be inserted approximately 1-1.5cm above the existing needle. The purpose of each needle is to insert bi-directional threads into the targeted areas. These threads are made of polypropylene and are often referred to as PDO threads.

The procedure itself is often called a PDO thread lift.

The most widely-known are PDO threads. PDO threads are equipped with small barbs along the surface that act as cogs (small gears or mechanisms) to grasp, lift and suspend the facial area undergoing treatment. As the needle is slowly withdrawn, it creates a suture lift causing the tissue to “gather” over the thread until the desired effect is achieved and the long ends of the thread can be cut off. New collagen and fibrous tissue forms around the PDO sutures and continues to hold up and tighten the skin tissue. This growth happens to help naturally heal the treated areas, but because there are threads in place, new growth will take place around the threads in the repositioned areas.
This achieves the longer term results a thread lift offers. There is no need to worry that threads are left underneath the skin. They facilitate the new growth and dissolve completely on their own, without leaving residual material, in about 6 months through a natural process called hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is painless and simply refers to a chemical breakdown caused by a reaction with water.
After the threads have dissolved, the new collagen and fibrous tissues will have already formed in the treated areas and will continue to show a lifted effect, restoring youthfulness to the area.

Before Treatment Care for a Thread Lift

Although it is always best to meet with your plastic surgeon to determine the best plan of action for your specific skin type, professionals agree that thread lift candidates should avoid all alcohol and discontinue smoking for at least a week before the procedure as these things will dehydrate the skin and interfere with the anesthetic. All aspirin-based products should be avoided as well as cause unnecessary bleeding leading to unwanted complications and side effects. Blood-thinning products include Ibuprofen, Neurofen, and Naproxen/Naprogesic.

After Treatment Care for a Thread Lift

Some thread lift patients might feel nausea associated with the after-effects of the anesthesia or the procedure itself and can sip small amounts of clear liquids until it passes. It is also helpful, especially if your skin tends to swell or bruise, to ice the area for 30 minutes 4-5 times a day for the first 5 days. Otherwise, limit facial motion for 24 hours, avoid facial creams or makeup for 48 hours, do not drink with a straw, keep the head elevated (including bending lower than heart-level) at a 45-degree angle for 5-7 days, eat soft foods or drink liquids for 7-10 days, avoid chewing gum for 2 weeks, avoid heavy exertion for 2-3 weeks and avoid pulling down on face or massaging it for 3 weeks.
Pros & Cons of a Thread Lift Pros

•  Short procedure
• Quick recovery time
• Minimally invasive Cons
• Not as effective as other methods
• Does not address excess skin
• Lower success rate Recovery from a Thread Lift A thread lift requires very little recovery time because of its non-invasive nature, but it is still helpful to have a basic idea of when you can expect to return to normal living. The following list provides an idea, but you should always follow your surgeon’s instructions if they differ in any way from what is listed here.

When Can I Start Working Again?

This depends on your job type and environment. You should expect to return to work within 1 day to 1 week of your treatment, but that will vary from job to job. A job that doesn’t require a lot of activity could be resumed in 1-2 days. A more strenuous job or a job that requires a lot of movement and activity, such as nursing or personal training, would require more time off.

When Can I Shower?

You should refrain from washing, wetting and touching your face or the treated area for at least 12 hours after your procedure. Once you do start showering and cleansing the area, be careful not to massage or scrub with a washcloth for 3 weeks after your thread lift.

When Can I Resume My Regular Skin Care Routine?

You can gently resume a basic wash, dry, lotion routine about 48 hours after your thread lift, but avoid any type of scrubbing, tugging or exfoliation, and check with your surgeon before applying any prescription strength creams or topical medications.

When Can I Wear Makeup?

After waiting 48 hours after your thread lift, you can apply makeup as needed. Makeup will help cover any remaining bruising.

When Can I Exercise Again?

You can resume light forms of exercise, such as walking, 1 week after the thread lift, but be careful to avoid any exercise that strains the treated area. Weightlifting, for example, should be avoided until you are cleared by your surgeon. Yoga, which requires your head to be below your heart, should be avoided for 7 days.

What Is Thread Lift?

A thread lift is an aesthetic procedure that treats minor facial and neck sagging to render a rejuvenated appearance. It can be done on mid face, lower face, neck or brow. The treated area is raised and sagging is eliminated. It is a minimally invasive method. The scarring is virtually invisible, and threads are hidden within the skin once they are knotted. Many a times thread lift is done in combination with other non-invasive procedures such as laser treatments,Anti wrinkle injections  and facial peel to improve the texture of the skin. Also, Liposuction may be done at the same time to enhance the facial contours.

Causes/Why should you consider a thread lift

You may opt thread lift for following reasons:

• To reduce early signs of aging such as sagging skin of face or neck.
• You want to highlight and enhance facial features lost due to premature sagging of skin on your face and neck
• The sagging in your neck and face are not too severe to warrant a neck lift or a traditional facelift
• You cannot afford much time or money to undergo facelift surgery.
  To improve your look through cosmetic enhancement, avoiding the potential side effects of facelift such as scarring.
• The effects of previous neck lift and facelift is wearing off.
• The weakening of muscles causes brow or cheek sagging in younger patients.
• A thread lift is done in older patients who have undergone a facelift to provide support to the soft tissues elevated in a facelift.

What are the advantages of having a thread lift instead of a facelift?

For many patients, the biggest advantage of having a thread lift rather than a facelift is the greatly reduced recovery time associated with thread lifts. When a patient has facelift surgery, he or she must be heavily sedated; as such, the patient must arrange for someone to drive him or her home from the hospital. Most facelift patients also require around the clock assistance from a caretaker for at least three days after they have surgery. Furthermore, if the patient still has children at home, childcare aid may also be needed. Facelift patients usually need to take one to two weeks off of work, too, in order to heal.

Recovery from a thread lift, on the other hand, is comparatively easy. Thread lifts can be performed under local, rather than general anesthesia, meaning that thread lift patients can drive themselves home and look after themselves immediately after having their procedure. While some patients will experience a little bit of soreness, redness and swelling after having a thread lift and therefore wish to take the rest of the day off, most can return to work immediately. Strong pain medication is seldom needed after having a thread lift, making it easier for patients to return to their normal routine. This procedure is therefore ideal for people who have children at home or those who have busy, demanding careers.

While thread lift recovery is not particularly intensive, patients will still have to take a few minor precautions while healing. It’s important to make sure that you don’t rub your face vigorously while cleansing it or applying moisturizer for at least a week after having threads placed. You should also try to prop your head up slightly so that you don’t roll over directly onto your face while sleeping.

Thread lifts are low risk, thanks to how noninvasive they are. There is virtually no risk of scarring, severe bruising, bleeding or other complications after having a thread lift. In rare cases, patients may experience irritation, infection or their sutures becoming visible under their skin. If this occurs, however, the sutures can simply be removed and the patient’s face will return to its prior state.
Finally, because thread lifts are much easier to perform than facelift surgery, they are much more affordable.

Advantageous though thread lifts are, it’s important for patients to maintain realistic expectations for this procedure. While thread lifts certainly produce visible changes, they will generally only lift the face by a few millimeters; as such, they create a more subtle and natural looking end result than facelift surgery. Thread lifts are therefore best suited to patients who are dealing with mild to moderate, rather than severe, signs of skin laxity.
Thread lifts can, however, provide a facelift alternative for older patients who are unable to have surgery for medical reasons. Because thread lifts can be performed under local anesthesia, many people who have age-related conditions that make them ineligible for surgery (like high blood pressure, type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease) can safely have this treatment. If you have any outstanding health conditions, make sure to talk to your doctor about whether or not a thread lift might be right for you.

It’s important to understand that while no lifting technique can produce permanent results, facelift surgery will usually produce longer lasting results than a thread lift. The results of facelift surgery can last up to a decade, whereas a thread lift will generally last from one to three years. However, because the thread lift procedure is so low-risk, patients who like the results of their thread lift can usually opt to have a fresh set of temporary sutures placed once their old sutures are absorbed by the body.

Now in Mumbai,India, Director of Elements of Aesthetics under Dr.Stuti Khare Shukla guidance these procedures are FDA approved and can offered for better results to the patients under nominal prices compared to other cosmetic centres.